The lead scripture today provides a clear lesson on the importance of relying completely on the Lord to guide us to a logical conclusion. On hearing about the birth of Jesus, wise men came to look for Him. God led them supernaturally through a star in the sky all the way from the East until they came to the land of Israel. I have no doubt that the star knew that the Child was not in Jerusalem but Bethlehem. This is proven conclusively from our text as the same star eventually led them all the way through when they came out of the King’s court. The question is this: how did they end up in Jerusalem at first? I believe they shifted focus from the star that had guided them earlier. They tuned in to human reasoning.  They must have reasoned that if a King was born, the right place to find him would be in the King’s palace. As long as they reasoned that way, they entered a blind spot where God could no longer lead them. Whenever we shift to the flesh, the Holy Spirit becomes inactive.

Whenever we shift to the flesh, the Holy Spirit becomes inactive…We can’t take a bit of the Spirit and a bit of the flesh and hope for a positive outcome.

Whenever we approach God for anything, we must do so wholeheartedly. Half measure approach will not deliver positive results. The Lord is able to finish any work He started provided we allow Him, and remain attuned to the Spirit. The problem many people have is that they try to mix a bit of flesh with the doings of the Spirit, and the two cannot mix. Paul penned down an important truth for the Galatians, that the flesh and the Spirit lust against one another. He also questioned how they hoped to finish in the flesh what they had started in the Spirit. We can’t take a bit of the Spirit and a bit of the flesh and hope for a positive outcome.